A Snowy Meeting
by angelwingsonline
Summary: What were the chances that Kaito's class trip would be to the same town Conan's group was visiting while investigating a major case? Pretty good apparently. This story is based around last year's Magic Kaito Xmas special (episode 6) and movie 15: Quarter of Silence.
1. Chapter 1

Ok. So in honor of Shinichi's birthday I decided to upload this (couldn't really think of a good title for it though) It's something I wrote after seeing the Kaitou Kid Christmas special last year. It draws from the both the special and movie 15, so if you haven't watched them this might not make too much sense.

Enjoy!

* * *

Conan stretched as he stood up from the dining room table. Genta, Ayumi, and Mitsuhika took off towards the exit at high speed.

"Where are you guys going?" Ran called after them.

"Outside! There's still a short while before the sun sets," Mitsuhiko explained as the group paused.

"We want to see which one of us can make the best snowman, and we might not have time tomorrow since we'll be busy with the festival!"

"Come on, hurry up!" Genta whined. "We've already lost too much time thanks to that old detective!"

Conan shook his head slightly when he heard Genta's continued complaints. '_Can't really blame Genta though,' _Conan thought, _'That interview took _forever _to finish. I wonder how Watanabe's co-workers put up with such a slow-talking co-worker?'_

As the (real) kids disappeared outside, Conan began to review the facts he had so far about Hikawa's murder (the medical examiner may not have confirmed it as a murder yet, but he had no doubt as to what would be found). '_I've already figured out the "how" but as for the "why" and "who" of the case…'_

His thoughts were interrupted as the Shounen Tantei-dan ran back inside, their eyes wide.

"Hey guys! There's something going on over on the ski slope!" Genta announced loudly as they stopped in front of them.

"Yeah! There's a big crowd gathered at the bottom and a bunch of people were heading up on the lifts!" Mitsuhiko nodded.

"And the people on the lifts were all wearing costumes!" Ayumi finished, throwing her arms into the air for emphasis.

"On the ski slope?" Conan glanced out the window, at the orange sky. The sun was well on its way to setting, and there weren't any night lights on the slope – anyone going up would be skiing or boarding in complete darkness within the hour.

"Shall we go and check it out?" Ran smiled as she leaned down to their level.

"Can we?" The three asked simultaneously. At Ran's nod they cried out happily and took off running again.

"Oi oi…haven't we had enough excitement for one day?" Kogoro grumbled as he watched them go.

"It's exactly because of that 'excitement' that I think they _should_ go!" Ran turned to him with a slight scowl. "Hopefully it'll help get their mind off of what happened…"

"Yeah," Sonoko nodded. "A little normalcy will do us all good."

"'Normalcy,' huh?" Ai, walked up to him with a smirk, speaking so only he could hear, "Around you, this pretty much _is_ normal, isn't it, Shinigami-san?"

"Shut up…" Conan grumbled. "And anyway, how does 'people on ski lifts wearing costumes' count as normal anyway?"

Ai's only answer was a slight widening of her smirk.

Kogoro and Agasa both excused themselves and went back to their rooms, although the later received a stern warning from Ai against sneaking any junk food while she was away (with the accompanying glare promising hell if she was disobeyed). The others all decided to go see what was going on at the slope.

Conan arrived just in time to see a giant pink chicken and giant green octopus come skiing down the hill (or in the chicken's case, rolling).

A quick inquiry of surrounding crowd members produced the somewhat confusing explanation that it was a "Holy Night Masquerade Pair-skiing Contest" that was being held by a high school class from Tokyo's Ekoda High School on a school trip.

Conan looked back towards the slope with a raised eyebrow, wondering what the criteria were for pairing up the costumes. _'What exactly do dinosaurs and bugs have in common…?'_

"Ah! It's Kamen Yaiba!" The Shounen Tantei-dan cried out and pointed happily at the next pair. A moment later, their smiles fell off their faces faster than their idol toppled backwards into the snow. As the crowd around them burst out laughing the three looked at one another with identical deadpan expressions.

"Or not," they pronounced together.

"Geez, if he was gonna dress up as Kamen Yaiba, the _least_ he could do was be _cool_!" Genta added angrily while the other two nodded sagely. Conan couldn't decide whether to laugh, sweatdrop, or be happy they realized the truth (there was a time when they wouldn't have).

The crowd's laughter (and the low scores by the four judges) continued on for a while as the sky steadily grew darker.

"Entry number 18, Snow Queen and Yeti!"

The crowd, many of whom had tears in their eyes from laughing so hard, let out a gasp of awe as the pair skated over the crest. The judges' nearly perfect score told Conan that nobody else had noticed how long it had taken the pair to reach the bottom (suggesting that at least one or, more likely, both had crashed out of their sightline). He would admit though that the woman did seem to know how to ski and that her costume was quite beautiful, although he imagined it didn't provide much protection against the winter cold.

As the crowd cheered, the last rays of the sun began to fade, but Conan overheard a few people in the crowd talking about another student who hadn't gone yet.

'_This "Aoko" isn't still planning to go is she? It'll be almost pitch black at the top by now!'_ Conan looked up towards the crest worriedly, only to blink in surprise. Pairs of white lights were descending from the top of the slope, creating a runway in the snow.

"It's Kaito! Kaito's magic!" Someone in the crowd cried out.

"What magic?" Conan muttered quietly as he rolled his eyes, "it's just lights buried beneath the snow." _'Although the time and effort it must have taken to set this up…' _ He shook his head slightly. This "Kaito" guy was dedicated, he'd give him that.

The final pair came over the crest and into sight and Conan nearly groaned when he realized what the pair was dressed as. '_Kaitou Kid and a bride? Seriously? I bet the girl's another Kid fan like Sonoko. Speaking of – ' _

"Kid-sama!?" Conan winced at Sonoko shocked high-pitched-yet-quiet squeal. Ran quickly reminded her that this was a costume contest, at which point Sonoko began to shift towards outrage ("How dare he dress up like my Kid-sama!").

Conan pointedly ignored Sonoko and re-focused on the skiing pair just as the bride, Aoko, shifted too much of her weight and began to fall backwards only to be caught by "Kid" and carried, appropriately, bridal-style. Then, with a sudden burst of speed, Kid bent his knees and shifted both his and the Aoko's weight, flipping them both high into the air in a dramatic back flip. He landed perfectly, and then slid to a halt in front of the wildly clapping crowd as the announcer, the class's teacher apparently, enthusiastically announced the pair's winning perfect score.

Conan barely heard any of this however. He was too focused on studying Kuroba Kaito as he took off his hat and bowed to the crowd. He looked familiar – and he didn't mean the resemblance to his true form.

'_He _wouldn't_…would he…? Oh hell, who am I kidding? This is _Kid_! Dressing up as himself for a costume contest is just the sort of crazy stunt he'd get a kick out of!' _

He shook his head in irritated exasperation as he maneuvered through the crowd towards the makeshift podium that had been set up.

He reached the podium just as the victorious pair stepped down and the crowd began to disperse. Conan took the opportunity to jump up onto vacated podium so he would be more-or-less at eye-level with the caped teen.

"You're pretty amazing, aren't you, nii-san?" Conan called out once he was in place. The comment was completely innocent – no one would even know who he was talking to unless they saw who he was looking at and those who did see would just assume he was talking about the magician's skiing. There was nothing about the comment itself that should be alarming, and yet, for just a moment, white shoulders stiffened. The tension was just barely perceptible by a crease in his jacket between his shoulder blades, and it was gone instantly – if Conan hadn't been looking for it, he'd have missed it altogether. But he _had_ been looking and he _had_ noticed it.

Conan let a lightly ironic smirk settle on his lips. '_Nobody can maintain a perfect poker face twenty-four, seven, Kid.' _He knew that fact better than most.

The teen turned to look at him with an innocently curious look on his face. The look was so sincere that Conan almost doubted what he'd seen. Almost.

"Are you talking to me, boya?" The teen, Kuroba Kaito, asked with a slight tilt of his head. At Conan's nod, he turned to his classmates with a grin, "Looks like I made another fan! You guys go on ahead while I sign autographs!" He waived at the various affirmative responses then turned back towards Conan with an easy smile on his face.

_'There's not a hint of visible tension on him,_' Conan observed with a bit of admiration. Outwardly, he cocked an eyebrow. "An autograph, huh? Will you sign it as Kuroba Kaito or Kaitou Kid? If I get a choice, I'd prefer the later – it'll probably be a bit more useful." _'At the very least it would be a potential bribe for Sonoko…'_

"Sorry to disappoint you, boya," Kuroba chuckled, "but I'm just dressing up as Kid for my class's event."

"And that's why I said you're amazing – it takes a special kind of insanity to wear that in public as yourself, Kid," Conan smirked.

"Didn't I just say –"

"Don't bother," Conan interrupted. "Have you forgotten? I've seen your face before. You weren't wearing a mask when you disguised as me for the play with the Jewel of Destiny. We're not identical, it's true. Your hair is much wilder, and your face a bit more rounded; the eyes aren't quite right either – but hair gel, make-up, and contacts would fix that easily."

He paused for a moment, but when Kuroba remained silent he continued. "Your reaction to my initial call to you was the last bit of proof I needed. For just a split second your shoulders tensed. There was nothing in my words that would have caused that, which meant you were reacting to my voice. 'Kuroba Kaito' has never met 'Edogawa Conan,' but Kaitou Kid has," he shrugged. "It's not enough for an actual conviction, but it's more than enough to convince me."

"You say it's not enough for a conviction, even if I _was_ Kid," Kuroba said after a brief silence, and Conan could tell he was choosing his words carefully, "if that's so, then why are you here? What do you plan to do?"

"Nothing," Conan smiled and shook his head slightly.

"What?"

Conan looked up at the sky, where he could just make out the first stars of the night, as he fought back a grin. The dumbstruck look the other's face was hilarious.

"I said I'm not going to do anything," Conan repeated softly. "I have no intention of revealing who you are to anyone else."

"But _why_? You're a _detective_ aren't you!?"

"I am," Conan nodded then glanced back at Kaito with small grin, "which is something I've never told 'Kuroba,' by the way," he held a hand up as the other teen opened his mouth to respond, "as for why…for one, I _can't_ say anything – not without revealing myself, anyway. But, even more than that…I don't want to."

"'Don't want to'?" Kuroba repeated softly, his head tilted to the side.

Conan shrugged, "You've known who I am for a while now, yet you haven't told anyone or used the information for any kind of leverage over me. You've even helped me keep my secret from Ran. I'm not so crass that I would forget all of that and turn you in the moment I discover your identity –especially since it was by a complete fluke."

"If that's so, then why confront me like this?"

"To confirm my suspicions, for one thing," he might have also wanted to see if he could shake the unshakable Kaitou Kid a little, but he'd keep that bit to himself. "Also, I guess…to even the playing field? I know that you know about me, so…" Conan shrugged again.

"I…see."

Kuroba's comment was followed by several minutes of silence. They had long since been the only ones still in the area – everyone else had gone back indoors. The conversation didn't feel over yet, but neither of the two quite knew what to say next.

"There's something I want to ask you," Conan said, finally breaking the silence as he gave in to the desire to ask something he'd been wondering about since he'd first heard the other's name.

"What's that?"

"You're name…Kuroba," Conan turned to look at the sky again as he started awkwardly, somewhat unsure of how best to phrase his question, "are you…related to Kuroba Toichi?"

He felt more than saw Kuroba turn to face him more, "Yeah, he's my father."

Conan nodded as his suspicions were confirmed, although he continued to stare at the stars above, "I thought so." '_A world-renowned magician who died around the same time the original Kaitou Kid disappeared from public eye.'_ He was a bit surprised nobody had made the connection – then again, considering his successor, even if they had, they most likely wouldn't have been able to find any proof.

"Did you…know him?" Kuroba's voice had changed subtly. Conan glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, but chose to ignore the change and instead focused on his question.

"My mother did. Kuroba Toichi was the magician who taught her the art of disguise." '_And he's also one of her "seven knights,"' _but he wasn't about to go into that. "Can't say I'm too thankful for that, though."

"Why's that?" Kuroba quirked an eyebrow at him. "Hasn't it given you an edge in seeing through Kid's disguises?"

"I'd have been able to spot you regardless," Conan scoffed. "Even if had helped though, it wouldn't be worth the number of times she's used her disguises to mess with me."

"Something tells me there are some interesting stories behind that sentence," Kuroba grinned after a moment.

"You have no idea," Conan rolled his eyes. Kuroba opened his mouth to reply when a distant shout reached them.

"Conan-kun! What are you still doing over there! It's time to come in!" Ran waved at him from the distance.

"I guess that's my cue," Conan jumped down from the podium and started to walk away but after a few steps he paused and glanced back with a smirk. "Don't think this means that I've given up on catching Kaitou Kid, Kuroba Kaito."

"I wouldn't dream of it, Tantei-kun," the thief answered with his own signature smirk before letting it smooth out into a normal smile "In the meantime, perhaps I'll see you around."

Conan smiled back, "yeah, maybe."

* * *

I have an idea of a continuation for this which incorporates the movie a lot more. Let me know if you guys want me to write it. Maybe I'll upload on Kaito's Birthday? :D

Also, there's something I need to say. For those who don't know, in every Magic Kaito episode (or Kaitou Kid Special as they call them) they have a _cameo_ of Conan appear, but Conan has NEVER appeared in the manga – although Shinichi did in Volume 4 with the clock tower heist. Up until now, these cameos have slightly annoyed me since they really throw off the time line established in the manga series if viewers take them seriously (and yes, this part of the note is basically a rant by me to set people straight :P) The most recent episode, however, is actually an anime-original - I scanned through Magic Kaito when I first saw the special. So...yeah. Just had to say that.

Please review! Thanks for reading!

Happy Birthday Shinichi!


	2. Chapter 2

Omg...I don't think a story has EVER given me so much trouble. I had _planned_ to upload this on June 21 - Kaito's birthday - but, _obviously_ that didn't happen. In my defense, it was Kaito's fault. He REFUSED to stay on the sidelines like I'd planned and so - _this - _was born. *Glares at a completely unrepentant phantom thief* Then, due to my own idiocy, I accidentally deleted DAYS worth of work and it took me a while to get the motivation to rewrite it all and I still don't think it's as good as the original... orz

Okay. Enough of that. A brief note on dialogue, since it might be a little confusing:

"words" = normal dialogue

'_words'_ = thoughts

"**_words" _**= words heard over phone, radio, etc.

And a warning: **While I've written this in a way that anyway can hopefully understand what's going on, so this chapter WILL spoil the end of Movie 15 - you have been warned. **

**EDIT!** (sorry if you thought this was an update but I needed to get this out) - **the quotes from the movie in this story are from DCTP's subbing of the Quarter of Silence! **

And now, to the story!

* * *

**Chapter Start**

* * *

"That diamond dust was _so_ pretty!"

"I know! I'm so glad I got to see it!"

Kaito smiled at his classmates' exclamations as they made their way into the dining hall, their anger towards him for rousing and chasing them outside with a literal explosion of magic earlier that morning clearly forgotten.

"Still, Kaito-kun could have just told us!"

Well, mostly forgotten.

Kaito was currently sitting at a secluded window booth – he'd been there since everyone else had gone back to bed after seeing the diamond dust. Kaito hadn't seen the point in joining them, since he hadn't really slept that night anyway (but luckily, Kaito had never needed much sleep to function). So he'd made his way here to focus on the thoughts that had kept him up.

Tantei-kun knew his identity.

That thought, in one variation or another, had been chasing itself around in Kaito's mind since his encounter with the miniaturized detective the night before. At that time, only his poker face had prevented Kaito from completely freaking out when he first heard Tantei-kun's voice. Most of the interaction from that point on had been done on autopilot, and he'd spent the better part of the night going over the entire meeting in his head, trying to take everything in.

Kaito'd be lying if he said that Conan knowing his identity didn't make him nervous. It wasn't that he thought Tantei-kun would reveal his secret - he didn't. Even without the assurances the detective had noted yesterday, he knew that Tantei-kun had more honor than that. Still, having anyone, much less a _detective_, discover his secret went against every Kaitou instinct he'd developed.

'_But whether I like it or not, it's already happened. The real question is: what am I gonna do from here?_' Tantei-kun had made it clear that he wouldn't use the information he'd gained. Essentially, he was leaving everything in Kaito's hands. Kaito could do nothing, and they would simply go back to how things had been before Tantei-kun had learned his identity. However, there was also the other option, the one he'd hinted at the previous night, and to which Conan hadn't refused.

"_In the meantime, perhaps I'll see you around."_

_"Yeah, maybe." _

Kaito could choose to approach Edogawa Conan as Kuroba Kaito rather than Kaitou Kid.

Kaito was torn over what he wanted to do. On the one hand, his Kaitou instincts were screaming for the first option, but he also felt a definite draw towards the second. It was the first time Kaito's two "identities" had conflicted so strongly over something.

The Kid part of him recognized the folly in approaching Conan. Even if he accepted that Conan wouldn't expose him, just associating with him as Kaito would create a link between Kid and Kaito that could potentially be connected and his secret revealed. After all, Conan's connection to Kid as the "Kid killer" was well known. Plus, if the organization after Pandora ever figured out who he really was, as they had his father, Conan could be put in danger.

On the other hand, the Kaito part of him saw the detective as a sort of kindred spirit – ironic as that was. Plus, from what Kaito had seen, Tantei-kun was the type of person who could use as many people watching his back as he could get. The guy was a magnet for trouble.

Kaito was drawn from his musings by the sound of explosions. Believing they were fireworks, he glanced at his watch, thinking he'd somehow missed the start of the ceremony, but he still had nearly an hour left before it was supposed to start.

_'Then what in the world...?_' Kaito's mind stuttered to stop when he caught sight of two columns of black smoke rising into the sky. Judging from their positions, he figured the smoke to be coming from the communication stations. Pulling out his cell phone, Kaito confirmed that the three bars he'd had the last time he'd glanced at the screen were gone.

_'Now, what are the chances this is just an accident?'_ Kaito thought sardonically as he scanned the area. Spotting a glint from a pair of very familiar glasses, he barely resisted the urge to shake his head. _'With Tantei-kun in the area? Zero.'_

As he watched, Conan pulled something out of his pocket and held it to his mouth. Kaito realized he must be using one of those detective badges he and the other kids in his group had. '_They really are handy aren't they? I wonder how they work…_' Kaito paused in his thoughts as he noticed the expression on the tiny critic's face. He was glaring out over the area, his whole body looked tense and his fists were clenched at his sides.

_'What's got you so upset, Tantei-kun?'_ Kaito watched him for a couple moments longer before making his decision. Getting up, he pulled his coat out of nowhere and quickly made his way towards the door, easily staying out of his classmates' sights. Within moments he was out the door and striding towards the porch where Conan stood. As he drew within earshot, he held up his hand and called out.

"Yo!"

Conan jerked as if shocked and spun his whole body around at him. Kaito kept his friendly smile in place, but internally he frowned. _'Something's definitely up.'_ It wasn't like Conan to be caught so unaware – he usually seemed to have a sixth sense about just being watched (it was one of his more annoying traits – at least where Kid's heists were concerned.) But Conan had not only not noticed he'd been watching him, he apparently hadn't even noticed him approaching. Whatever was going on, it was definitely bigger than the detective's usual murder mystery – which said quite a bit about the guy's life, now that he thought about it.

"Kid…" Conan's eyes widened as the pseudonym left his mouth. "Or, I guess since the contests over, it's Kaito-nii-san now right?"

Kaito stopped in front of him and gave him a sardonic look, "I'll forgive the slip if you drop the 'nii-san.' No one's around anyway, and it's creepy knowing who you are."

Conan grinned slightly, "Fair enough, Kuroba-san"

"Just Kuroba's fine," Kaito grinned, "I've never been one for formality."

Conan shook his head, "Somehow, I'm not surprised. Fine, then – Kuroba. Did you want something?"

Kaito let his expression grow serious, "Something's going on, isn't it?" He hooked his thumb in the direction of the still-rising smoke.

All traces of amusement vanished from the detective's face as he looked at the smoke, "Yeah."

'_Not gonna elaborate, huh?'_ Kaito sighed internally after several moments of silence, knowing that it would be pointless to ask questions. The lack of information annoyed him, but he couldn't say it was unexpected. That was just the way Tantei-kun was. Unless he was sure of his deductions, he rarely spoke his thoughts on a case. It was a good policy for a detective to have, since it prevented the wrong person from being accused, but it also meant that Tantei-kun was pretty much on his own in an investigation. It was a policy that he knew had gotten the shrunken teen in trouble more than once before.

A distant greeting announced the arrival of one of the kids in Conan's group – the girl Kaito suspected was the same as Tantei-kun (that, or creepiest kid he'd ever met, _including_ Conan) – which put a stop to any further conversation.

"I suppose that's my cue," Kaito grinned. But before he left he clapped the detective on the shoulder, causing the detective to stumble forward slightly. "Don't go getting in over your head again, Tantei-kun. I can't guarantee I'll be there the next time you get thrown out a window."

"Barou…" Conan grumbled as he regained his balance. "As if I need you to."

Kaito just grinned, gave a two fingered salute and walked off. He wandered back to his lodge and the seat he'd vacated earlier. Only when he was seated did he pull out the tiny earpiece receiver that paired with the transceiver he'd attached to the back of Conan's coat, tucked up beneath the hood.

He couldn't really say why he'd done it. Tantei-kun had demonstrated numerous times that he was anything but the helpless child he appeared to be. Despite that, Kaito just couldn't shake the bad feeling he'd gotten as he watched Conan stare out over the frozen ground. It was the same feeling he'd gotten when Tantei-kun had faced down the leader of that fake terrorist group on the airship after he and his friends had been caught.

* * *

'_Sometimes, I _really_ hate when I'm right_," Kaito swore as he raced over snow-packed roads. He'd been listening in on the detective's progress for about an hour while he'd dodged bullets on a turbo powered skateboard then shared his deductions with the other children while they traversed through a long cave and up the dam's discharge conduit (Kaito had only been able to shake his head in admiration at the leaps in logic that had led Conan to this village). He'd begun to think his intuition had been off this time when Conan had discovered the unconscious workers.

Luckily, Conan appeared to have somehow avoided being completely incapacitated by the stun gun when the criminal had snuck up on him, but it was obvious that the detective was in trouble.

Unable to sit still any longer, Kaito had slipped out of the lodge at that point (again easily avoiding the attention of his classmates). Unfortunately, Kaito didn't have his glider with him – or any of his Kid equipment for that matter. It wasn't like he had a heist planned after all. It wasn't worth the risk of someone accidentally finding something in the chaos and confusion of a school trip, especially with a certain half-British detective in his class, who he knew would just _love_ the opportunity to go through Kaito's things (although a case had apparently detained Hakuba at the last minute and prevented him from coming on the trip). All Kaito had with him besides his usual stash of supplies were a few small gadgets he'd been tinkering with, which he'd made sure to keep on his person at all times. Even the outfit he'd worn during last night's contest had been Fujie-kun's hastily (but skillfully) adjusted costume.

Without a glider, the quickest way to the dam would be by car, but with the ceremony about the start, the only way that would happen is if Kaito hotwired one (something he _really_ didn't want to do in his civilian guise). So Kaito continued to run around the village, hoping something would spark an idea.

In his ear, Kaito heard a mockingly familiar sound: two pairs of feet – one large, one small – pounding in a stairwell. Tantei-kun was completely on the defensive, forced to run through the empty dam while a madman with a gun took potshots at him.

'_Dammit!_' Kaito thought as another shot went off in his ear, followed by the clattering of falling debris. It had become abundantly clear from early in the chase that the criminal was toying with Conan - laughing as an (apparent) child ran for his life. As Kaito came to a brief stop behind a building to catch his breath, he heard the criminal's voice echoing through the receiver.

"**_Run away, Run away! Hurry up! Here comes another one!"_** The man's laughter was punctuated by yet another gunshot.

Kaito growled, glancing over in the direction of the village parking lot, beginning to reconsider his decision to not "borrow" a car, when a loud familiar voice stopped him.

"Bombs!?"

"You're too loud! We only confided in you because you're the famous detective Mouri-san. If other's hear of this it'll likely result in panic!"

Kaito glanced around the corner and confirmed that it was Mouri Kogoro's group. They were currently talking with two workers from the dam who had come down to attend the ceremony. As he listened to the workers explain how they were heading back to the dam to check on their co-workers, Kaito realized Lady Luck had come through for him again.

'_That's my ride_!' Kaito grinned. _'Doubt they'll let some random guy suddenly ride with them though, so I need to find way to separate one of them from the group…' _

Again, Lady Luck smiled upon him as the younger of the two dam workers announced that he'd go ahead and bring the car around.

'_Bingo!_'

However, as Kaito was taking a short cut to the parking lot he caught sight of a very familiar head of bushy brown hair.

'_Aoko…_' Kaito pulled up short. Seeing his childhood friend reminded Kaito that it wasn't just Tantei-kun in danger right now.

'_If those bombs go and the dam collapses…_' Kaito disliked thinking about things in worse-case-scenario terms, but in this situation there was too much at stake to not take it into consideration.

"What should I do…?" Kaito growled under his breath. He was torn. Considering the village's location, any sort of evacuation would take time, and there was no telling when that madman might detonate. But if he could get to the dam in time, he might be able to do something to prevent the dam from collapsing in the first place…but if he didn't make it in time and no one was evacuated….

"Kaito!"

The magician jerked his attention from his thoughts and turned to see Aoko waving at him, but it was person who'd joined her since he'd last looked that he focused on – whose blonde hair was shining in the winter sunlight.

'_Hakuba…! That's it!'_ Kaito sent a silent thank you to Lady Luck for her special attention today as he quickly made his way over to the two. He didn't have much time.

"Look who managed to make it!" Aoko gestured unnecessarily to Hakuba.

"Well, the case wasn't _that_ difficult," Hakuba smiled as he flipped his bangs, "I was able to finish it relatively quickly."

'_Dying his hair will _not_ help your case here, Kaito,'_ he silently reminded himself as he watched the detective's posturing.

"That aside, I heard you made an interesting choice of costume in the contest last night," Hakuba smirked at him. "I'm sorry I missed it."

"Really?" Kaito smiled, silently snickering as he saw the detective tense at the unexpected response. "That's too bad! Here, let me tell you _all_ about it! I'll even show you were it took place!" He grabbed the stunned detective's wrist and began pulling him in the general direction of the slope the class had used the night before.

"Just a – Kuroba-kun!"

"Aoko!" Kaito shouted back over his shoulder, ignoring the blonde's protests "you go on ahead! We won't be long!"

"O-okay…" Aoko blinked dumbly for a moment before shaking her head, "make sure you're not late for ceremony!"

"Got it!" Kaito waved as he dragged Hakuba around the corner of the closest building.

"Kuroba-kun, release me!" Having apparently recovered from his shock, Hakuba wrenched at his arm. Unfortunately for him, Kaito had chosen that moment to let him go (they were out of sight, after all, which all he'd wanted). He_ really_ hadn't intended for the Brit to over balance and fall backwards on his ass – it was total coincidence. That didn't mean Kaito didn't enjoy the sight.

"Kuroba-kun," Hakuba growled as he pushed himself to his feet and brushed off the snow, "what in the wor–"

"Just shut up and listen," Kaito cut him off, once again stunning the detective into silence. He quickly relayed the conversation he'd overheard between the dam workers and Mouri's group.

"That sleeping Kogoro – he thinks the dam's in danger," Kaito decided to add, just to be sure blonde detective got it. He wasn't even technically lying, considering who the _real _sleeping Kogoro was. "Something about a connection to Governor Asakura and the Touto Line incident?"

"A connection?" Hakuba looked startled before setting into his usual thinking pose.

'_Come on! Tantei-kun figured it out with a lot less than that!_' Kaito grit his teeth as he waited impatiently. He knew he only had a few minutes left to intercept the dam worker.

"It couldn't be…!" Hakuba suddenly jerked up, eyes sharp. "The governor was the main person in charge of the building of this dam – the culprit could very well target it, like he did the Touto line!"

'_Yes! You _are_ a decent detective!'_ Kaito inwardly cheered while outwardly he gaped at the blonde, "But…if that's the case, wouldn't the best time to attack be today? The dam's running on a skeleton crew because of the festival!"

"Yeah," Hakuba nodded, a serious look on his face. "But without knowing for certain, it'll be difficult to get anyone to take action…"

"But that's…!" Kaito looked at the ground and forced himself to count to five slowly in his head, long enough for an idea to believably occur to him. He couldn't afford for Hakuba to get suspicious now – if he thought the idea was pre-planned, he'd think it was trick by Kid and get distracted. "Hakuba, you do what you can here!"

"What?" Hakuba looked up, startled, "wait, then what are you going to do?"

"I'll try to get confirmation," Kaito grinned, making it look forced, as he dug in his pocket. "Those workers have probably already left by now, so I'll go up the mountain to try to get a view of the dam." He pulled out a small round object. He fiddled a little with it for moment, taking a piece out, then tossed the object to Hakuba.

"What's this?" Hakuba asked, looking at the object he'd caught suspiciously.

"Something for a new prank I was planning," Kaito donned a sheepish look. In reality, it was something he'd been planning to use for his next heist, but he'd just come up with something else. This was more important, and he'd taken out the only Kid-related component. "It can be triggered from a several kilometers away. Don't worry," he added hastily seeing the alarmed look on the other's face, "I took out the dye bomb. But it'll still vibrate if I trigger it. Keep it in your pocket – if it goes off, it'll mean I've confirmed our suspicions."  
"…Alright," Hakuba nodded after a brief pause. Slipping it into his pocket, "but only trigger it if your _certain_ that there's something wrong with the dam."

"Got it!" Kaito quickly turned and dashed off. As soon as he was out of Hakuba's eye sight he adjusted his course and sprinted as fast as he could towards the parking lot.

In Kaito's ear, he heard the clang of yet another door being thrown open, followed by the muffled sounds of feet running through snow and, a few seconds later, yet another gunshot.

* * *

Kaito sat tensed in the seat as the car passed the boundary of the village, paying just enough attention to the conversation in the car to answer on autopilot when addressed. The majority of his attention was focused on the sounds in his ear. He barely managed to hide a wince as he heard Conan stumble and hit the ground.

**_"Idiot of brat! If you simply enjoyed the Snow Festival like you were supposed to…You could have died without any pain. Out with it! Where are your friends!?"_**

**_"I don't have any friends with me…"_**

_'Just like on the airship…'_ Kaito thought, gritting his teeth as he heard the culprit threaten Conan with the stun gun. '_How low can this guy get!?_' As far as that guy knew, Conan was a genuine child – and he was planning to torture him!

Suddenly a sound Kaito recognized as Tantei-kun's skateboard powering up filled his ears.

**_"Bastard!_**"

Another gunshot sounded and Conan cried out. For an instant Kaito was a terrified that the bullet had found its mark before his brain processed that Tantei-kun's cry had sounded more surprised than pained – and the sound of the bullet's impact sounded the same as it had before, when it was hitting the ground. Most likely, the bullet hitting the ground had caused the board to be thrown off balance, sending the detective flying. The rolling he'd heard also seemed in line with that.

'_Please let that be the case…_' Kaito prayed as he listened to Tantei-kun struggling to get up.

A dull thud, accompanied by a sharp cry of pain forced Kaito to bite the inside of his lip to keep his expression clear.

'_Poker face…never forget your poker face_,' even as he chanted his father's old adage, as he listened to the next few moments he knew his eyes had to be blazing. He turned to look casually out the window to prevent the others from seeing.

"**_You brat…The nerve of you! I don't have time to play with you!_" **The man's words were accompanied by several more thuds and grunts of pain.

Kaito vaguely registered the taste of copper on his tongue – a distant part of his mind identified it as blood coming from the lip he'd bitten too hard – as he listened to Conan groan in pain.

"**_There ain't much time, so I'll trust you've really come alone." _**A brief pause followed, one that gave Kaito a very bad feeling. **_"Don't worry. In fifteen minutes, when the explosions start… Heaven'll immediately become really crowded! Farewell…Brat!"_**

'_No! Tantei-kun!_' Kaito's heart seemed to freeze as a gunshot echoed though his ear. His body went numb as his brain began to go blank. '_No. It…can't be. It can't…_'

A cry of pain sounded in his ear, but it took several seconds for Kaito's brain to comprehend the sound.

'_Wait…that's…not Tantei-kun's voice…?'_

"**_Mizuki-san…" _**The familiar voice sent a jolt through Kaito and he blinked as the world came back into focus.

Kaito quickly got his bearings about him. He glanced at his companions in the car, but it seemed no one had noticed the few moments that, he was sure, his poker face had completely crumbled.

"**_Mizuki… Damn you!" _**Kaito heard the madman grunting in pain, followed by another shot.

"**_Give it up, Yamao-kun."_**A new voice, a woman's, spoke up,**_ "Are you alright, Conan-kun?"_**

At Conan's confirmation, Kaito finally allowed himself to relax. He allowed his attention to wonder, but the familiar _snick!_ of Conan's watch activating instinctively had him on alert again.

"**_I am a good shot,"_** the woman was saying.

"**_Yeah, it seems that way."_** Kaito could hear someone walking around for a few moments before Conan suddenly yelled, **_"Look out, Mizuki-san!"_**

The sound of a struggle echoed through the earpiece concluding with the now-semi-traditional sound of the culprit falling unconscious via sleeping dart.

Moments later, Conan's friends arrived, and Kaito was finally able to sit back and breathe, listening in as more revelations were made. All of it led up to a dramatic and tearful conclusion that Kaito thought would have been perfectly suited for the big screen.

Too bad it didn't last.

"**_Edogawa-kun! The light is blinking!"_**

"**_What!?"_**

The fear evident in the Haibara girl's and Tantei-kun's voices gave Kaito a pretty good idea of what "light" was being referred to, though he prayed he was wrong. Kaito held his breath in the tense seconds that followed before Conan's next words.

"**_Everyone, run for it! It's gonna explode!"_**

Kaito swore loudly and profusely in his mind, employing every word he'd ever heard from Nakamori, as well as few of his own, while shocked gasps rang through the group at the dam.

"**_Stop wasting time! Hurry!"_**

Kaito had never heard the detective sound so frantic before, but a few moments later, he realized why as several loud explosions vibrated harshly in his earpiece, each one growing louder nearly drowning out the chaos of the groups' flight.

After a particularly loud explosion, Kaito noticed a new sound – a loud cracking. Kaito immediately realized what the sound had to be.

'_The dam walls…! They're starting to collapse!_' Kaito swore. He reached into his pocket and flipped the switch that would trigger the device he'd given Hakuba. Now he could only hope that the Brit worked fast enough, because from the sound of it, the dam wasn't going to hold for long.

As if mocking his thoughts, another series of explosions rattled his eardrum.

"**_What!? There are still bombs left!? Damn!"_**

'_Oi! Don't tell me he's still on the dam!_' Kaito thought incredulously. As he heard Conan cry out in surprise as the loudest blast yet hit, he wanted to groan. '_What happened to running for it, you idiot! Are you _trying_ to get yourself killed!? Get outta there!' _Then, almost as though Conan had heard him, Kaito heard the sound of the detective's snowboard revving up, but his relief was short lived as the sound was suddenly drowned out by another huge explosion, followed by the unmistakable sound of rushing water.

A sudden jerking dragged Kaito's attention back to the car. The car had just come around a bend in there road, and there, rushing towards him, was visual confirmation of what his ears had already told him. But finally, _finally_, he could say could drop his poker face and _react_ to it, even if he still had to stay in character while doing so.

"This is bad! The dam is…"

His "co-worker" jumped in quickly, "It's dangerous! We hafta retreat!" He then proceeded to quickly flip the car around – an impressive maneuver on the narrow mountain road.

As the car raced away from the surging water, Kaito could hear Conan maneuvering around on his board. Kaito had no idea what he was doing, though judging from the couple exclamation he'd made aloud, he seemed to have some sort of plan.

Suddenly the sound of water in his earpiece grew significantly louder and he thought he heard a crackling, sizzling sound.

"**_Come on, just hang in there a bit longer!"_**

'_It almost sounds like he's _riding _on the water!_' Kaito looked out the opposite windows, towards the raging water. '_I really hope you know what you're doing, Tantei-kun!_'

"Hey!" Kogorou leaned forward in his seat to look at him. "If all the water comes down at once, what'll happen to the village?"

"It'll be really bad!" Kaito told him, staying in character. _'Do you not see that huge wall of water? What do you _think_ will happen!?'_

"We don't know how bad it'll be!" Sonoko Suzuki screamed in his face, startling him out of his thoughts. _'Yikes! Yeah...definitely prefer her screaming at me from a _distance_!'_

"Without a doubt…" his "co-worker" cut in before he could respond, "The whole village is gonna sink!"

"No way…" Ran breathed.

'_It's fine if the village sinks, just so long as the people aren't in it when it does!'_ Kaito thought anxiously, his thoughts again turning to Hakuba and whether or not he'd succeeded in getting people to safety. He thought of Aoko. '_She's the type who'll stay behind to help others escape…but please Aoko, get outta there!" _

"**_I can see it!"_**

'_Huh? See what?'_

"Conan-kun!"

'_What!?'_ Kaito whipped his head around to stare out his own window. _'It _is_ him! What're you up to, Tantei-kun?' _He heard Kogoro voice the same question as Conan began moving up the unused ski slope. Suddenly, he turned on the board's turbo engine and began zigzagging up the slope. '_Oi! Don't tell me he's…!"_

"An avalanche!" Professor Agasa suddenly cried, realizing it at the same moment. "He's planning to start an avalanche to change the flow of the water!"

'_Fighting one man-made natural disaster with another…well, you can't accuse him of thinking small…" _Kaito thought incredulously as Ran opened the window and called out worriedly to her young charge_. 'But how many times does he have to risk his life in _one day_ before he's satisfied!?'_

A few moments later Kaito heard another sizzle in his earpiece, followed by a pop. On the slope, Kaito could just make out wisps of black smoke issuing from the back of the board.

"**_Not now!_**" Kaito heard him cry an instant before the boy toppled into the snow. The others in the car cried out in worry, but Kaito knew he was fine and could hear him cursing repeatedly up on the slope.

Before Kaito could do much more than register these facts, a rumbling began to churn in the air. Focusing back on the slope, Kaito saw the grooves Conan had made in the snow deepening.

'_He did it!'_ Kaito thought happily, but moments later the feeling turned to horror as the lines marking the loosening snow kept spreading up the mountain, far past where the detective had stopped. A moment later, large sections of snow high up on the slope seemed to just slip off the mountain face and began rolling down. The avalanche quickly grew as it descended and soon it looked like a massive cloud or fog bank was sliding down the mountain.

"**_Not good!"_**

The voice snapped Kaito's attention back to Conan, who had already gotten back on his board was racing back down the slope, with the avalanche bearing down behind him.

"That brat…Freaking did it…" Kogoro breathed, staring at the spectacle white-faced.

"Run!" Sonoko screamed out the open window, urging him on.

For a few very tense seconds, Kaito watched the fog-like snow quickly gain on the detective. The gap between the two quickly shrunk to around 20 feet before stopping, as Conan's speed reached that of the avalanche, so that it was neither gaining on him nor falling behind.

Kaito took that moment to quickly glance back at the water, gauging its speed and distance and calculating it to that of the avalanche.

'_It'll barely make it!'_ Kaito realized. Relieved, he turned his attention back to the slope just in time to see Conan hit a jump built onto the slope.

"LOOK OUT!" Ran screamed as Conan went flying, the air time radically reducing his speed.

Kaito didn't know if Conan had heard her cry or if he'd simply spotted their vehicle, but for a moment, as time seemed to slow to a crawl while the avalanche consumed the gap, Kaito could see the detective looking directly their way. Kaito could see a look of surprise flash across his face, as he likely locked eyes with Ran, before he was swallowed by a wall of white.

"NOOOOO!" Ran screamed as the car rounded a bend in the road, getting them out of the avalanche's path just in time. In his ear, Kaito could hear the snow rumbling dully all around, and then silence.

As the driver stopped the car as fast as he dared on the narrow, snow-covered road, Kaito forced himself to turn away from the bend in the road behind them and looked out the front windshield to see the results of the detective's daring plan.

Below them, the avalanche hit the canyon floor just before the water collided into it with a deafening crash. The large mass of snow acted as a barricaded that shifted the water just enough to avoid a direct hit on the village. It raked along the edge of the town, taking out the main bridge. A couple buildings along the bank were also destroyed, but Kaito wasn't too concerned about anyone being inside. Even if the occupants hadn't been at the main ceremony taking place near the center of town, those buildings would have been the first ones Hakuba evacuated. Conan had done it – he'd saved the village.

The sound of a door opening brought Kaito's attention back inside the car, where Ran hadn't waited for the car to stop completely before jumping out and racing back the way they'd come.

'_Right. Now to rescue the rescuer!'_ Kaito resolved as he quickly followed after Ran along with everyone else in the car.

"Conan-kun!" Ran began to cry out even before she reached the snow, and everyone else quickly began to do the same.

"Oh! That's right!" Kaito's would-be co-worker called out in surprise, stopping just before he reached the snow. "We have a couple avalanche probes in the car! I'll go get them!"

"No, let me!" Kaito spun around, knowing he'd be faster than the older man, "where are they?"

"Where they always are, the emergency kit in the trunk!"

'_If they're always there, why didn't you remember them immediately?'_ Kaito thought uncharitably, dashing to the vehicle as fast as he could. The distant part of the his brain recognized he was going much faster that his disguise had probably ever done in his life, but he doubted anyone would notice and even if they did, he'd just say it was adrenaline. He knew time was too critical right now.

Reaching the vehicle, he pulled up on the trunk's handle only to find it locked. Throwing a few silent curses at the dam worker, Kaito didn't bother looking for the keys and instead pulled out a thin wire from one of his many hidden pockets. He had the lock picked and the trunk open less than five seconds later. Ten seconds after that, he'd found the kit, located the two probes and was running back towards the group, assembling the collapsible rods as he went.

"Here!" Kaito called as he tossed the second pole to the worker and quickly went to work. It'd been about five minutes since he'd lost sight of the detective.

The group worked frantically, digging and probing as fast and as much as they could but time continued to drag on without any results.

"How many minutes!?" Kogoro suddenly yelled out at them, "How many minutes have passed!?"

"Eleven minutes and 50 seconds," a new voice spoke quickly, interrupting the professor's hesitant answer. It was the Haibara girl, and the look on the girl's face showed that she'd already grasped what had occurred. Behind her were the Shounen-tantei-dan, plus a man and woman Kaito realized must be the Mizuki-san and Mutou-san he'd heard talking at the dam. "It's been almost twelve minutes since the avalanche occurred!"

As the significance of that information sunk in and the new arrivals quickly began to dig as well, Kaito noticed Ran pulling out her phone.

'_She's gonna try to call him!_' Kaito realized, remembering what the man he was disguising as had said about the base station near the dam and that it might be possible to get a signal up here. His fingers tightened around the pole as he continued probing while he continued to watch her out of the corner of his eye.

"It went through!" Ran suddenly shouted. Kaito instantly stopped his probing and stood up to listen for the sound of ringing while Mouri told everyone to do the same.

Kaito focused all of his attention on his ears, but all they met was silence. He was starting to grow desperate when he heard Ran gasp.

"There!"

The group quickly followed her and watched as she dug up Tantei-kun's cell phone.

Kaito quickly began searching that area along with everyone else, but after several moments of fruitless searching, the hope the phone had given the group began to fade. A couple feet away, Kaito heard the dam worker swear and looked over at him.

"Not here either?" Kaito asked, forcing himself to keep his voice calm and in character. By focusing on maintaining his poker face and the guise of his dam worker, Kaito was able to stave off the panic steadily building inside him – barely.

"No," the other worker answered.

'_Dammit!'_ Kaito swore silently. _'Depending on when he lost the phone, he might not even _be_ in this area!'_

Kaito looked at Ran, who hadn't put her gloves back on after dialing Conan's cell phone, dig frantically in the snow until her fingers bled. That, more than anything else, really drove home how for Kaito how desperate the situation really was, and he wasn't the only one.

"Conan-kun…Will we never see him again?" Ayumi asked as tears gathered in her eyes.

"No way…" Mitsuhiko stared at the ground.

"You're kidding…right?" Genta looked around with a stunned look on his face.

"Conan-kun…" Ayumi's tears began to spill, "You can't die!"

Haibara remained silent, but Kaito could see her look at her watch, her face growing deadly serious at what she saw.

'_No!'_ Kaito ground his teeth as he pressed the probe into the snow again, "_I'm _not_ giving up._ _Tantei-kun is _not_ going to die!_ You are not dying, Tantei-kun!'

"Ran! Don't give up!" Kogoro encouraged his daughter as he also dug into the snow again with renewed vigor.

As Kaito rapidly jabbed the pole repeatedly into the snow, he could see Ran pull out her cellphone again from the corner of his eyes.

'_We already found Conan's cell phone…who could she possibly be calling_?' Kaito thought, glancing repeated at her as she held the phone to her ear. He soon got his answer.

"Help us, Shinichi!"

Everyone in the group stopped and looked over at the girl as she clung to the phone, a desperate look on her tear-stained face.

'_Her last hope of saving Conan, the shrunken Shinichi, is Shinichi himself,_' the irony of the situation wrenched at Kaito's heart. Then it dawned on him. '_Wait…if she has number for both Conan and Shinichi…does he have two phones!?'_

Just as Kaito tried to listen for the sound of another phone, there was a large crash, and something burst from the snow several yards from where the group stood. As Kaito realized what it was he very nearly laughed aloud.

'_I never thought I'd be so happy to see that hellish soccer ball!'_ He thought.

The other members of Conan's group realized what the soccer ball meant as well, and as they all ran towards the spot it had emerged. And despite knowing that he should stay put a little longer, looking shocked and confused over the events like the older dam worker, Kaito quickly dropped his probe and joined them as Ran quickly dug around the hold the soccer ball had created. After a few moments, she uncovered the detective's face.

'_He's so pale…'_ Kaito thought worriedly. He held his breath as he watched Ran pull the unresponsive boy into her arms.

"Conan, kun… Hang on, Conan-kun!" Ran begged tearing up when there was no response, she held him close. "Please, Conan-kun… Open your eyes! Conan-kun!"

Ran's words appeared to reach the detective. As Kaito watched, he could see the boy's complexion improving, the deathly paleness fading away. Slowly, his eyes opened.

"Ran…neechan…" Conan's voice was weak and he was obviously exhausted, but he managed to give his childhood friend a small, frail smile nonetheless.

'_Thank goodness…'_ Kaito finally let out his breath.

"Conan-kun!" Ayumi cried out and ran to his side hugging him. The other Shounen-tantei-dan soon joined her – sans the hug.

"You guys…so everyone made it off the dam alright?" Conan asked after extracting himself from Ayumi.

'_This guy…'_ Kaito thought, half exasperated, half admiringly, as the group gave various affirmatives. '_And I bet the next thing out of his mouth'll be about Kitanosawa."_

Sure enough, almost as soon as the thought had occurred to Kaito, Conan's eyes suddenly went wide and he struggled to get up, "The village!"

"It's fine!" Ran told him quickly, tightening her hold on the struggling boy – she was clearly not ready to let go of the precious little brother she'd nearly lost. Conan continued to struggle for a few moments more before accepting the futility of the endeavor.

Instead, he looked around at those gathered, an imploring look on his face. "Really?"

"The avalanche diverted the flow just enough," Kaito nodded as he spoke up. Recognizing that the detective wanted details, he added, "The main bridge and a couple buildings along the bank were destroyed, but anyone nearby should have gotten enough warning to clear out from the sound of the water approaching." Since he, the dam worker, wouldn't know about Hakuba or any evacuation attempt, he kept quiet about that. In any case, Tantei-kun looked satisfied enough with the information he'd gotten as he sighed and let himself relax.

"You should worry more about yourself, you brat," Kogoro grumbled.

"Exactly!" Ran cried, briefly tightening her hold before turning him around and looking the teen-turned-boy in the eyes. "What were you thinking, Conan-kun! That was so _dangerous_!"

"S-sorry, Ran-neechan… I saw the water's path and…when I thought of everyone there…I just…" Conan said in a near whimper, employing puppy-dog eyes as he looked up at the girl. Kaito, picturing the look on the full grown Meitantei, clamped his poker face into place to stop himself from laughing. The look worked, though, as Ran stared at him sternly for a few moments longer before melting and hugging the detective to her again.

"It's alright, Conan-kun, just…never do something like that again, okay?"

"O-okay…" Conan muttered, his face bright red – something Kaito suspected had nothing to do with the cold and everything to do with how close the girl was holding him to her chest. Again, Kaito kept his poker face firmly in place.

"How'd you even come up with a crazy idea like that, anyway?" Mouri asked shaking his head. "Wait, let me guess. TV?"

"A movie!" Conan chirped happily though Kaito's experienced eyes noticed a bit of anxiousness in the young face (it made him wonder just how many times the "TV" excuse had been used to explain away Tantei-kun's large database of knowledge). Conan used the question as a pretext to pull himself away, at least slightly, from his would-be-girlfriend's bosom. "The bad guy put a whole lot of people in danger, but in the end the hero defeated him! It was really cool!"

'_Nice,_' Kaito hid a grin, '_that plot could describe any one of thousands of movies_.'

"Oh!" Genta cried happily, "I think I've seen that one! The explosions were awesome!"

Kaito allowed his mirth to escape as a smile as he knelt down next to Conan. "Regardless of where he got the idea…" he ruffled boy's hair, earning him a glare. He grinned, "you're pretty amazing, aren't you, boya?"

"Not really. I just…!?" As the exact phrasing Kaito had used registered, Conan's head, which had been in the process of turning away in (feigned) bashfulness, whirled back around so quickly that Kaito was afraid he'd give himself whiplash. Kaito allowed a Kid grin to slip past his mask, silently confirming the detective's suspicions.

"Conan-kun?" Ran's concerned voice suddenly reminded Conan where he was, but he was saved from having to answer by the sound of approaching sirens.

'_Of course they show up _now_, when everything over…'_ Kaito grumbled as a police cruiser rounded a bend in the road and into their view.

"Is everyone alright?" The officer cried as he came to a stop and threw open the door.

* * *

After hearing a brief summary of the events that transpired on the dam, the officer decided to escort Yamao-san across the avalanche zone to his cruiser on foot. It would take several hours before a path large enough for vehicles could be cleared, and between the man's injuries and seriousness of his crimes, the officer wasn't willing to risk waiting that long.

As the officer walked off, accompanied by Kogoro, Mizuki-san, and Mutou-san and led by a determined Shounen-tantei-dan, Conan – who had managed to finally squirm out of Ran's grasp during the review of the case – turned to Ran. The instant Kaito saw his face, he knew the detective was up to something; the detective was looking up at Ran with wide, teary eyes (caused, Kaito had no doubt, by the detective forcing his eyes to remain open in the cold wind).

"Ran-neechan…" the boy spoke quietly, with a definite tremble in his voice.

"Conan-kun!" Ran was at his side in an instant, "what's wrong?"

"That guy…what if he gets away from the officer…?"

"Don't worry, Conan-kun," Ran soothed. "Even if that happens, Dad'll be there to stop him."

A slight clenching in Conan's jawline told Kaito that this wasn't the response the detective wanted to hear. "But…! In this snow, won't uncle's Judo be hard to use? And I'm worried about Ayumi and the others…" Kaito could see Ran was wavering, and so could Conan. He went in for the kill. "That guy…he hit me with a stun gun…and he…he tried to shoot me!"

'_That did it,_' Kaito thought as he saw the girl's hands clench.

"He did, did he?" Ran looked off in the direction the others had gone, her eyes hard, "Well, don't worry, Conan-kun. I'll go too and make _sure_ nothing happens. Ok?"

"Really?" Conan asked happily, evident relief washing over his face.

"Yeah…" Ran nodded, but she looked around hesitantly – undoubtedly still not wanting to leave Conan alone. But with Agasa, Ai, Sonoko and the other dam workers having retreated into the cars for warmth, the only person around was Kaito. "Um…excuse me?"

"Yes?" Kaito looked over with raised eyebrows, pretending he hadn't been listening in on their conversation and had merely been staring out over the view as it appeared.

"I want to go with the others, but I don't want to leave Conan alone," she gestured to him. "Unfortunately, after what happened, he wants to stay out in the fresh air…" (_'Ah,_' Kaito realized, _'so _that's_ how he managed to stay outside_.') "Do you think you could keep an eye on him while I'm gone?"

"Sure, no problem," Kaito smiled, "it's the least I can do after all he's done for my village."

"Thank you so much!" Ran bowed at him, then turned and grasped Conan by the shoulders. "I'll be back soon, okay?" At Conan's nod, she turned and walked off, a scary look appearing in her eyes as she went.

'_That Yamao guy better behave himself – for his own sake,' _Kaito thought half-amused as he took in her determined walk and clenched fists. He waited until she was out of ear shot before turning to Tantei-kun.

"Impressive," he said in his own voice, "a bit melodramatic, but effective nonethele–"

"What are you doing here, Kid?" Conan interrupted irritably then paused, blinked, and turned a deadpan look at him. "And you've _hardly_ the right criticize about _that_!"

"Ah, but being melodramatic is _in character_ for Kid, is it not?" Kaito winked cheekily, before turning serious. "And did you really expect me to stay on the sidelines when I learned what was going on?"

Conan stared silently at him for several long seconds before letting out a sigh, "No. I suppose not." Kaito nodded, but before he could say anything Conan smiled at him somewhat sheepishly. "But if you were hoping to get your listening device back, I'm afraid I lost it in the avalanche."

"You knew about that?" Kaito blinked. Honestly, he'd completely forgotten about the device. In fact, he noticed now that he'd lost the receiver at some point as well. '_Careless_,' Kaito scolded himself. If that happened at a heist he'd be in serious trouble since the receiver would have his DNA on it.

"Since the beginning," Conan nodded. "I'm not mad, though."

"Huh?" Kaito blinked again, suddenly feeling lost. '_Shouldn't it be _me_ who's angry? Not that I am…'_

"Considering your position," Conan continued, appearing not to notice Kaito's confusion, "I can't blame you for wanting to make sure I didn't say anything." He shrugged. "Besides, considering that the culprit this time had already nearly killed a train full of people, I thought it couldn't hurt for someone to have an extra ear out in case something went wrong. Though you joining in like you did kind of defeated the purpose…"

"No," Kaito broke in automatically, still trying to absorb what the detective had said, "I made arrangements before I left...now, back up a second. Is that really why you think I bugged you?"

"Huh?" Conan looked at him. "That's why you've done it before at heists, right? What other reason would there be?"

Kaito stared at the honestly confused look on the detectives face. '_He's serious! This guy…_!'

"'What other reason'?" Kaito half-growled, rumpling his own hair in frustration. "How about 'I was worried about you'?" He glanced over and saw a look of surprise appear on the detective's face. He sighed, "It was pretty obvious just by looking at you that this was bigger than your usual case. You were tense and distracted." Kaito shrugged (he'd chosen not to mention his 'bad feeling' since a rational detective like Tantei-kun would likely just scoff at such a thing). "Seeing you like that, I got a little worried and decided it wouldn't hurt to keep 'an extra ear out,' as you put it."

"T-that's…"

"Besides, I know how reckless you can be." Kaito grinned, apparently knocking Conan from his shocked speechlessness.

"Says the guy who makes a habit of jumping off skyscrapers…!" Conan began, but Kaito cut him off.

"Uh-uh," Kaito held a finger up. "Don't even go there, Tantei-kun. You and I both know that my jumps aren't _nearly_ as dangerous as I make them look. Not only do I have my hang glider – which I maintain myself – I always make sure to have at least one backup plan to fall back on in case something _does_ go wrong." He turned a look on the would-be child. "That being said, where was _your_ backup plan, Tantei-kun? In case something happened, like, for example, _you getting caught up in the avalanche you created_?"

Conan opened his mouth only to close it again before turning to look out over the view with a petulant look his face (appearing, much to Kaito's amusement, very much like the child he appeared to be). "It worked out didn't it?" Conan muttered. Kaito realized he was conceding the point, but before he could respond, he was faced with cerulean eyes again. "In any case, you of all people should know I can take care of myself, Kid."

"Wrong," Kaito shook his head. "It's exactly because it _is_ me that I know how reckless you can be in the midst of a chase."

And Kaito knew that that was when the detective wasn't even truly serious. Not that Tantei-kun didn't give it his all when he faced off against Katiou Kid – it was just that the guy reached a completely different level of intensity and recklessness when lives were at stake, especially if those lives included people he knew and cared about. Kaito had realized a long time ago that Edogawa Conan, AKA Kudo Shinichi, was _not_ someone you wanted to truly piss off. As Kid, he'd been fine with and even enjoyed taunting, annoying, and irritating the detective, but he'd always been mindful to never cross the line. He'd toed it a couple times (and earned a few bruises via soccer ball for his trouble), but never crossed it.

"So what are you saying?" Conan demanded angrily as he looked up at him. "I should have just let things run their course? Let the village be destroyed, just because the only possible way to save it might be dangerous?"

"Of course not," Kaito frowned. Apparently, he'd unintentionally struck a nerve in the detective (although he sensed that it went beyond that day's incident). "Don't forget, Tantei-kun, I'm not here in this village alone. My whole class is here and they might have died if you hadn't done what you did."

"So what are you saying?" Conan repeated, this time without the anger.

"I'm saying you shouldn't try to do everything _alone_, Tantei-kun. Nobody can do that." Kaito grinned. "Even the greatest magicians in the world need their assistants. Someone they can rely on to come to their aid or improvise if something doesn't go as planned." At Conan's sardonic look he rolled his eyes and added, "Detectives are no different! Even Holmes had Watson, didn't he?" '_There, that struck a chord_,' Kaito thought triumphantly as he saw Conan's eyes widen slightly.

"It's almost blasphemous – hearing those names coming from _you_," the miniaturized teen muttered, looking away.

"Yeah, well, drastic times and drastic measures, right?" Kaito shrugged while he continued to watch Conan.

"Drastic?" Conan turned back to him with a doubtfully raised eyebrow. "Are you trying to be melodramatic again, Kid?"

"No," Kaito answered seriously, surprising Conan (who no doubt had been expecting one of his usual quips at the melodramatic line). "Do you have any idea what it was like? Just listening to what was happening up there?" Kaito looked in the direction of the dam. "I don't like feeling powerless, Tantei-kun," he admitted as he turned back to the detective. "Not when it involves people getting hurt – _especially_ people I _know_." He ran a hand through his hair, messing it up even more than it was. '_That's one of the reasons I became Kid after all. Because Kuroba Kaito was powerless to find Dad's murderers_.'

"Never thought I'd hear _Kaitou Kid_ call himself powerless…" Conan snorted, startling Kaito from his thoughts.

Kaito turned to glare at the apparent brush off, but stopped when he saw the detective looking at his own hands with a derisive smile on his face. As he watched, Conan clenched the hands into fists and turned to Kaito.

"Sorry," Conan smiled softly, "And thanks. For worrying, I mean. It's not exactly something I'm used to."

"You're welcome, Tant-" he stopped and shook his head, "I mean, you're welcome, Kudo."

* * *

Once the other group returned, everyone traveled back to the police station in the village where they were met by a pair of police detectives. The officer who'd met them on the mountain gave the two a briefing of what had happened and what he'd learned.

"I had heard trouble followed you…" a slow-talking detective Watanabe said to Mouri, "but I never thought it was to this degree…"

Kogoro scowled while Conan sweatdropped. Kaito hid a grin.

"In any case," the man's partner, detective Sasamoto, broke in before anyone could respond. "We'll need to get everyone's statements about the case as soon as possible."

"Can't that wait? We're all tired from what's happened, especially Conan-kun," Ran asked while several others in the group nodded in agreement.

"I'm afraid…we have to insist on it being today..." Watanabe shook his head. "While your memories are still fresh."

_'Bet they're getting pressure from their superiors…' _Kaito thought to himself. '_It's such a big case, and now with the connection to the Touto Line bombing...They'll want to get things settled quickly.'_

"At least let us rest for a couple of hours then! Conan especially!" Ran pled. But when the officers began to shake their heads again she became irritated and stepped forward, right next to a wooden table. "Conan's action saved this village didn't they!? The _least_ you could do is let him rest for the day and not force him to relive through his ordeal so soon!" She slammed her fist down on the table, splitting it down the center.

The detectives stared as the crippled furniture collapsed with a groan to the floor glanced at one another, then back to Ran. With shock evident in their voices, they agreed to postpone Conan's interview until the next day but insisted (quite bravely, in Kaito's opinion, after the karate champion's demonstration) that the others remain. When Ran argued that Conan wouldn't get any rest in the police station, they officered to have an officer drop the boy off at the lodge the group was staying at.

Kaito, seeing an opportunity, stepped forward at that point. "Why don't I take him? My statement wouldn't be any different from my co-worker's anyway," he shrugged. "Plus my house is close to their lodge and I'm worried about my wife and daughter." Kaito had seen a picture of the two in the man's wallet, along with this address and other vital information he was always sure to look up for any disguise. "This way, I can check up on them and you have a little less paperwork."

The two detectives glanced at one another then turned to Ran, "would that be acceptable to you, miss?"

As Ran reluctantly agreed (she clearly would have preferred to stay with Conan), Kaito hid a grin. This way, he could avoid going on record while undercover, which he knew could cause issues later on.

A few minutes later, the two were making their way down the steps of the station.

"I can't believe they agreed to that," Conan shook his head.

"Well, Mouri-chan's…_persuasion _is hard to refuse," he grinned as Conan snorted. "And as for me, I've learned that 'less paperwork' are magic words to any police officer."

"Oh? I'll have to remember that," Conan laughed when Kaito threw him a disbelieving look. "What? Do you have any idea how hard it is to keep 'Kudo Shinichi's' involvement in the cases he helps out in off the record."

"How criminal," Kaito smirked. "Maybe there's hope for you yet, Kudo."

"Hope for what?" Conan quipped then sent a warning look at Kaito, glancing pointedly around them. "And don't call me that. I have enough trouble with Hattori."

"Who do you think you're _talking_ to?" Kaito threw a scandalized look at the shrunken teen. "As _if_ I'd make such an amateurish mistake!" He grinned at the unamused look on Conan's face. "But fine, _Conan_. It's not like I can't appreciate caution – boring as it tends to make things."

"And my life is just _so_ dull as it is," Conan rolled his eyes.

"Point," Kaito laughed. "So, what now? You gonna go back and rest at the lodge like you said you would?"

Conan nodded, "I think I've caused Ran enough worry for one day. And you?"

"Get back to my class," Kaito shrugged. "After what's happened, I'm sure the teacher's freaking out. First though, I need to go wake this guy up." He indicated his disguise.

"Oh, yeah," Conan looked up at him, "what are you going to do about him anyway?"

"What do you mean?"

"In a small village like this one, an incident like this one will be talked about for years, with everyone recalling what they saw and where they were at time…" he glanced at Kaito. "But what'll happen when 'you,' someone supposedly near the middle of the action, can't remember any of it? You may have managed to avoid going on record as him, but his supposed involvement is sure to get around."

Kaito just stared at the detective, his mind suddenly grinding to a halt as his words sunk in.

'_Uh-oh.'_

* * *

**Chapter End  
**

* * *

Incredibly…this isn't the end…probably. I guess it really depends on the response to this. Don't get me wrong – this isn't one of those blackmailing "I won't post unless I get a ton of reviews" A/Ns. I hate those. But, after all the changes and whatnot, I'm not sure how good this is… As I said, this didn't take the direction I'd planned it to take, nor was it supposed to be so long.

I've got more written, but I keep editing it…So, finally, I decided to post just this, and see what people's response was to the direction it took. I'll decide what I want to do after that – though I'll probably post at least some of what I've written already. Maybe. So…yeah. _Please_, tell me what you guys think!

Oh, and one more thing - a quick note regarding Hakuba, since I'm guessing someone will bring it up (I would). It's true that, according to specials, Hakuba hadn't yet appeared by the time of the Xmas special this is partly based on. However, in the original manga, Hakuba arrives before the Blue Birthday Heist which was in the episode before said special. So, since I wanted to have some fun with them interacting, I tweaked things a little. :P


	3. Chapter 3

Before you ask, no the almost-exactly-one-month-later update wasn't intentional lol. And don't worry, it's not a monster chapter like the last one (the only reason the last one was so long was because I included so much from the movie and didn't want to break it up). Hope you like it! ^_^

Oh! Make sure to review and tell me what you think! It's everyone's responses to it that have kept this story going!

Now - onto chapter 3!

* * *

**Chapter Start**

* * *

As it turned out, some quick thinking, even faster talking, and a few autographs were all Kaito needed to get out of his predicament. Well, that and a _lot_ of love from his favorite Lady.

"To think that that guy's daughter was a huge Kaitou Kid fan…" Conan muttered beside him, shaking his head in disgusted wonder. "That kind of luck should be illegal."

"Well…even if it were, it wouldn't make much difference to _me_," Kaito laughed at the dirty look that earned him. He had ditched the disguise after leaving the dam worker's house (it had been a great way to convince the man of who he was) and was back to being himself again.

"Think he'll be able to pull it off, though?" Conan asked after several moments, "you didn't really give the man too many details about what happened – just the basic facts."

"And that sort of thinking is what makes you a critic, Tantei-kun," Kaito tsked, grinning. "More details would just make it difficult for the man to keep everything straight. Besides, with these kinds of stories, people tend to exaggerate anyway – like how the fish that got away keeps getting bigger with every telling."

"So since he was likely to exaggerate them anyway, you let him create the details," Conan realized, catching on quickly.

"Yep," Kaito grinned. "And it's also got the added benefit of the fact that people tend to remember things they create better than things they're told."

"I see…" Conan shook his head, a grudging smile on his face, before another thought apparently occurred to him. "But do you think he'll be able to keep the front up? That's a pretty big secret to keep…especially indefinitely."

"Dunno," Kaito shrugged, earning him a confused look from the detective. "But this is a small town, where stories are unlikely spread and unlikely to be taken seriously even if they do. So I really don't care if the guy messes up and the people realize Kaitou Kid was here, just so long as it doesn't happen until _after_ everyone, especially _Hakuba_, has left."

After all, something like Kaitou Kid showing up in a remote village at the same time Kuroba Kaito's class was visiting, while not conclusive proof of Kaito being Kid, would undoubtedly cause the blonde detective to become more annoying than ever. And Kaito did _not_ need the guy stalking him any more than he already did.

"Hakuba?" Conan blinked. "As in Hakuba Saguru? I know he chases Kid on a regular basis, but you didn't have a heist here right? Why would he be here?"

"Ah…no, you see – "

"Kaito!"

"Aoko? Whoa!" Kaito spun towards the familiar voice and barely had time to brace himself as a head of bushy brown hair charged into his chest.

"Baka! Where have you been!? Aoko was so worried!" She pounded on his chest as tears gathered in her eyes.

"Ah…Aoko…don't cry…" Kaito begged. He did a quick mental calculation and realized with a start that it had to have been nearly three hours since he'd run off. '_No wonder she's freaked…'_

"I was starting to think you'd…!"

"I'm sorry, Aoko," Kaito pulled her away from him to look into her eyes. "Things just happened, one after another…I really didn't mean to make you worry –Here, to make up for it!" He popped out a red rose for her from thin air with a reassuring smile. "So please don't cry, okay?"

"Kaito…" Aoko let out a small smile as she took the flower and looked at it, then reached up to wipe her eyes. "Alright. Just…promise you won't do it again, okay?"

"Well, I'm _kinda_ hoping this is the last collapsing dam we come across," Kaito grinned, pleased when he got a small chuckle out of the girl.

"We were lucky that that avalanche happened," Aoko sighed.

"I don't believe 'luck' had anything to do with it, Aoko-kun," a familiar, accented voice commented from behind Aoko.

_'Speak of the devil and he shall appear…_' Kaito grumbled, glancing over to see Hakuba approaching.

"Hakuba-kun!" Aoko smiled as she saw him, and then frowned in confusion, "what do you mean?"

"While that site had been shut down due to several avalanches in the area, the chances of one occurring in just that area at that particular moment are 1 in 140069. Far more likely, it was triggered by someone…" His eyes narrowed suspiciously at Kaito.

"Don't look at me," Kaito grinned, glad for the chance to prove Hakuba 100% wrong in his suspicions of him. "The one who triggered it is over there!" He turned to where he'd seen Conan retreat when Aoko had shown up, probably to provide some privacy.

"Wha-?" Aoko and Hakuba both turned to look where he'd indicated as Conan walked forward, clearly realizing they were talking about him.

"Oh! Who are you, boya?" Aoko smiled as she squatted down to get a better look at Conan. "You look kinda familiar…"

"This is Edogawa Conan," Hakuba spoke before Conan could answer. "He's a temporary ward with Mouri Kogoro and his daughter, and has become the 'sleeping detective's' unofficial assistant. He's quite well known among the police force, especially Beika's Division One. However, you mostly likely recognize him from his encounters with Kaitou Kid. He has become known in the media as 'the Kid killer' for his success in foiling the thief's plans." Hakuba glanced at Kaito at this point, forcing the part-time thief to slam his poker face into place. "He was most recently mentioned in connection to the Touto Line incident."

"The boy who stopped the cars?" Aoko looked between the two. "This is him?"

"Correct," Hakuba nodded, "although, as I said, you most likely recognize him from the articles about him regarding Kid."

"No…" Aoko shook her head. "Well, I _do_ remember seeing him in those, but that wasn't what...Oh! I know!" she suddenly lit up and turned to Kaito. "He looks just like you when you his age!"

'_Technically, he _is _my age.._' Kaito deadpanned. "What are you talking about, Ahoko?"

"Shut up Bakaito, just look!" Without warning she reached out and snatched off Conan's oversized glasses and tossed them at Kaito, who caught them reflexively. The boy then let out an indignant squawk as she mussed up his hair and picked him up to present him to Kaito. "See? Doesn't he look just like you?

"Aoko…" Kaito struggled to stop himself from laughing at the disgruntled look on Conan's face.

"Although, even messed up his hair doesn't even come_ close _to_ your_ bird's nest," Aoko ignored him as she turned Conan back around to look at him. "Still…" she stared at him for a moment, before suddenly squashing the boy to her chest in a tight hug, "he's _soooo cute!_"

"Ahoko!" Kaito telled, no longer amused, "put him down already!"

Aoko sent him an annoyed look, but reluctantly did as he'd ordered. As soon as his feet hit the ground, Conan teleported out of her arms' reach, putting Kaito between him and the girl. (Kaito noticed with a touch of irritation that there was a definite flush on the faux child's face).

"He's also a lot more reserved than you were!" Aoko cooed at the supposed display of shyness. "Sorry, boya! I didn't mean to scare you."

Conan just shook his head in response to her, but Kaito could hear him muttering to himself (something about girls and small, cute things). Kaito shot him a look with a raised eyebrow as he returned the glasses, but Conan just shook his head again as he put them on, clearly indicating he didn't want to talk about it.

Suddenly, a cleared throat interrupted the scene and all three turned to Hakuba.

"Sorry to interrupt, but did you say it was Edogawa-kun who triggered the avalanche?"

"What? But he's just a little boy!" Aoko instantly protested.

"It's true though," Kaito grinned down at Conan. "Right?"

"U-un," Conan nodded with a hesitant glance towards Hakuba, "I just got lucky though…"

"Somehow I doubt that…" Kaito heard Hakuba mutter to himself. He looked over at him in surprise.

'_Ah…that's right. He's seen some of Tantei-kun's abilities first hand, hasn't he?_' Kaito realized, remembering the sunset mansion case. But instead of pursuing the matter, Hakuba changed the subject.

"So how did you two come to be together?"

"Ah," Kaito spoke up, having already prepared the story, "I happened to run into him and a dam worker a little while ago. The man had promised to take the kid to his lodge on the way to his house but ran into his family sooner than expected. He saw me and asked if I could take him instead. I agreed," he finished with a shrug. "Of course, I got distracted from it when _someone_ nearly tackled me in the middle of the street, all freaked out."

"Shut up! You'd been gone so long, everyone was…" she froze. "Oh no! I need to tell sensei we found you!" She turned around and began to run off. "You said you would, so make sure you drop little Conan-kun off at his lodge, but then come right back, okay?"

"Got it!" Kaito shouted after her, grinning at Conan's mutterings beside him ("the 'little' was unnecessary…"). "Well, I suppose that means I should get you back?" He turned to Conan with a grin.

"Before that, a minute Edogawa-kun?"

'_Of course. Here we go…'_ Kaito wanted to roll his eyes, already predicting what the blonde detective was going to say as he moved and knelt down next to Conan.

"Yes?"

"I was wondering…" he dropped his voice, though Kaito's trained ears could still hear him clearly. "What is your impression of Kuroba-kun?"

"Huh?" Conan blinked, glancing at Kaito, "Why?"

"Because he is my lead suspect for the true identity of Kaitou Kid," Hakuba smirked confidently.

'_I knew it…_' Kaito sighed as Conan looked up at Hakuba in surprise.

"From a strand of hair I collected, I determined Kaitou Kid was of Japanese descent, had a group B blood type and was between the ages of 15 and 17. So I took all the data I had on him and applied it to a high school database. Kuroba-kun's name was in the final list."

'_How will you respond, Kudo?_' Kaito wondered curiously. He knew the shrunken detective wouldn't betray him, but he _was_ curious to see how he would answer Hakuba, who clearly knew Conan wasn't your normal little kid. '_Something tells me this'll be interesting…_'

He wasn't mistaken.

"Was it the only name?" Conan asked, glancing down at the ground, the light catching and illuminating his lenses, hiding his eyes in the process.

"What?" Hakuba looked surprised. Clearly this wasn't the response he'd expected. "Well, no, but…"

"Then it can't be evidence." Conan said seriously. "'**It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts.**'"

'_English?_' Kaito started at the fluently pronounced foreign language. '_A quote from the sound of the intonation…And considering who's quoting, probably from Sherlock Holmes…_' he thought as he translated what he'd heard in his mind. He had to bite back a bark of laughter when he realized what it meant. '_I do believe Hakuba is being criticized using his own beloved Holmes!'_ The fact that it was also being done by an apparent first grader made the scene all the more delightful in Kaito's opinion.

"That's…!" Hakuba stepped back, looking as though he'd been slapped.

"Tell me…" Conan began, switching back to Japanese, "what do you take that quote to mean, Hakuba?" He looked up at the blonde, a hard look in his eyes. "Because _I've_ always taken it to mean that you can't come to a conclusion until you have all the facts. That you can't _accuse_ people of a crime until you have hard _irrefutable_ evidence that they really did it."

"Yes, but-!" Hakuba clearly wanted to argue, but Conan wouldn't let him.

"Have you forgotten the events that led to the Detective Koshien?"

'_Detective Koshien…?_' Kaito glanced between the two, his previous delight in the situation greatly reduced by the suddenly serious atmosphere. He'd never heard of such a thing, but whatever it was, the mention of it completely shut Hakuba down.

"As detectives, we can't afford to be wrong, Hakuba," Conan continued, again tilting his head so his glasses caught the light. "We can't make allegations lightly. You've seen the consequences that weakly supported accusations can bring about." He turned his back on the blonde and began walking away. "I suggest you try to remember that."

* * *

"While I applaud your skill at rendering Hakuba completely speechless – not an easy feat, I assure you – somehow, I don't think that was your main intention there." Kaito glanced down as he caught up and walked beside Conan.

Conan glanced up at him briefly with a small smile that didn't reach his eyes, but otherwise made no immediate response to Kaito's words or presence. The magician didn't push, though. It seemed pretty clear that the "Detective Koshien" referred to some sort of a case (especially considering who was involved), but it was also obvious that it had had quite an impact on the shrunken teen. He had a glassy, faraway look in his eyes as, Kaito assumed, he recalled the incident.

Finally, Conan came to a stop as he seemed to come back to himself. "It happened a while back…"

As Conan went over the case, Kaito quickly realized why it had had such a strong effect on the detective. It was a difficult and painful story to listen to; Kaito almost wished he hadn't heard it after all. But at the same time, it was very illuminating for him in regards to Kudo. As adept as he was at reading other people, the way the detective told the story – the vocal nuances and facial expressions at various parts – revealed a great deal to Kaito about the type of person Kudo Shinichi was. And the more he learned about the detective, the more he felt that Kudo was someone who could understand Kaito and the reasons behind the decisions he'd made.

By the time Conan fell silent again, Kaito had found his answer to the question that had plagued him the entire night before.

Now that the detective knew who he was, Kaito wanted to try and be friends.

_'And for that to happen, we need to be involved in one another's lives,' _Kaito thought. Luckily, Conan had already met Aoko (and Hakuba). _'I guess that means it's my turn to meet Kudo's friends.'_

Kaito grinned.

* * *

**Chapter End**

* * *

And that's chapter 3. I hope you liked it?

Just so you know, I'm not sure when the next chapter will be out. I haven't started writing it yet, and school's about to start, though I do have a decent layout of it in my head. Getting reviews does tend to help motivate me though, so don't be shy! ^_~

Until next time!


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